Down by the sea
Page 1 Eolena :Eolena wades back to the shore from the spot where she'd been fishing. She plops on the sand and sighs. She stares out at the fishing boats in the distance. She's sure that somewhere out there is her friend, theRedChef, but she hasn't seen him in quite a while. :She glances over her shoulder at the town of Holywell and thinks of her home back in Shrewsbury. She thinks of her little house and her corn field, of the River Severn and of the town orchard. She thinks of the enjoyable evenings they used to have in the tavern. :Then she thinks of the dangers on the roads and the travel restrictions and how there's no way of knowing how long it will be until they can return home. :A single tear seeps out of the corner of her eye but she impatiently wipes it away, shakes her head and rises. Then she wades back out into the water to try her luck at catching another fish. Eolena :The next day, Eolena returns to the fishing grounds with a much better frame of mind. Having spent a pleasant time in one of Holywell's taverns, she's heard the encouraging news that some of the brigands terrorizing the roads in the area have been captured. Perhaps the trip home will be able to happen sooner than she had thought. :She smiles as she wades into the water once again for another day of fishing. TheRedChef :Adrift in the foggy waters, a man lies in still repose. A fishing pole grasped loosly in hand bobs gently with the swells. The water lapping on the hull barely covers the sound of his snores. Rosalynn :Rosalynn heads down to the seashore for a last walk on the beach. She breathes in the salty air and looks out over the vast expanse of the water towards the far horizon. Rosalynn slips her shoes off and removes her hose, tucking them inside her shoes to slip on later. The sand is warm beneath the soles of her feet then turns cool and damp as she nears the water. Having finished packing the wagon, Rosa had left the twins in the care of their nanny while she came down to the shore. Pulling out the much-handled message from her pocket, as she unfolds it for the umpteenth time, the held-back tears well up once more in her blue eyes and begin to spill down her cheeks, some landing on the wrinkled paper adding more tear stains to those that had fallen earlier. Looking fretfully around her to be sure she was alone, after seeing it was so, she crouches down hugging her knees and releases the pent up mournful wails to accompany the heart-wrenching sobbing that hadn't been allowed to be voiced earlier in front of the twins for fear of frightening them. Rocking back and forth, Rosalynn cries until spent. The now-sodden message still held tightly in her hand she sits back, still dazed. :Sick at heart, the thought that he isn't coming back repeats itself over and over inside her head. Her 'knight in shining armor' wasn't coming back. Forever wasn't for always or for eternity as first thought; dreams were figments of the imagination and not meant to come true. Rosalynn wonders if a person can die from a broken heart as it sure felt to be true. :Sighing heavily, her brow furrows as her thoughts turn to the current events that set the wheels in motion for her moving from the place she thought she'd never want to leave. The character assassination of a longtime friend and herself were appalling but showed the true colors of the one instigating it. Rosa had resigned from the council because it was being perpetuated there as well. Scooping up a handful of sun-warmed sand she lets it trickle through her fingers back to the ground. They wouldn't be the only ones who sought a more friendly environment. The sense of community she'd created while mayor of Holywell was absent, gone, vanquished in less than 10 days. The market was over-flowing with corn that had gone unpurchased and little else. She'd spent several hours in her tavern and only a small number of the usual crowd ventured in. Rosa hadn't wanted to believe the stories she'd been told about the sudden drop in people going to the taverns. :Looking out over the water, Rosa comes to the realization that she no longer wishes to remain to watch the further destruction of what she'd tried so hard to build here, or to live with the constant reminder of all that she'd had with Sajanzv that was now gone forever. Getting to her feet, she dusts the sand off of her trousers and carrying her shoes in one hand and the crumpled message in the other, she turns away from the sea and without looking back, returns to the house where her second chance at happiness was now non-existent. Eolena :Eolena walks down to the waters edge nibbling on a crust of bread. She watches as the waves roll in and out as she finishes off her small meal. :Strange that not that long ago she was feeling ambivalent towards the sea in her homesickness and now that she'd be heading back to Shrewsbury, it feels odd to be leaving. :"Well, now that I've learned how to fish, perhaps I can save up for a boat and come back some day," she thinks to herself. :Then she looks down at the paper she is holding in her left hand and reads Red's note once again: : Time to hit the road. :She nods slightly and with one last glance out over the water, she turns and walks up the sandy dune towards the road and home. Category:Histories